Monthly Archives: February 2011

In Long Xuyen, Vice Chairman of the Peoples’ Committee, Mr Huynh The Nang opened the message design workshop to develop a campaign strategy and media materials for a multi media launch and upscaling of ecological engineering or “Cong Nghe Sinh Thai” for the province of An Giang. He fully supports the initiative as the practices are in line with provincial objectives to achieve sustainability and announced that he is developing a 10 year program (2011-2020) to implement ecological engineering which he named “Ruong Lua Bo Hoa” or rice fields with flower bunds. Ecological engineering approaches strive to restore biodiversity and ecosystem services and at the same time reduce insecticide use which destroys biodiversity. A farmer we interviewed coined the approach as “Xanh – Sach – Dep” or green, clean and beautiful. Led by Dr M. Escalada, the workshop held in Long Xuyen from February 16–17, 2011 developed prototype materials for posters, leaflets, TV and radio dramas which will be pretested. Final versions of the materials will be mass produced and distributed after the official launch by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Cao Duc Phat on 29 March 2011.

Prototype posters developed by workshop participants

Led by Dr Ho Van Chien and Mr Nguyen Van Toàn, a pre campaign survey will be carried out before the launching day. After launching follow up management monitoring and post campaign surveys will be conducted to determine adoption.

Ecological engineering principles are being communicated to farmers through video is Vinh Long province. After the ecological engineering initiative was launched by vice minister Dr Bui Ba Bong in September last year, TV Vinh Long engaged a professional video company, Y Tuong Viet based in Ho Chi Minh City to produce a series of 52 episodes to educate farmers on ecological engineering. Based on entertainment-education concepts (Heong et al 2008) , each 15-minute episode has drama and scientific explanations. In the first episode the drama depicted a discussion between a farmer’s daughter and a neighbor farmer. She was asked by her father to plant flowers on the rice bunds and felt reluctant as she could not understand why. In the conversation the neighbor farmer tried to explain to her the reasons and the benefits.

Video drama actors

In the second part of the episode the agricultural scientist came into the scene to explain how the nectar rich flowers would serve as resources for bees and hymenopteran parasitoids which provide protection to the rice crop from invading planthoppers.

In ecological engineering, locally known as “Cong Nghe Sinh Thai” farmers would refrain from using toxic insecticides that would kill the parasitoids and in doing so could benefit from reduced spray costs, reduce exposure to poisonous pesticides and the abundant availability of fish for dinner.

Farmer describing the benefits he obtained from ecological engineering

The TV series known locally as “Ke Hay Nong Ngiep” (or new agricultural ideas) is on air once a week on Saturdays at 4:45 pm and repeated on Sunday at 1:10 pm. The episodes on ecological engineering will be broadcast over TV Vinh Long (THVL 1) for a year.

by
K.L. Heong
International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines

Professor Michael James Way M.A. D Sc. 1922 – 2011

Michael James Way, known to many of us as Professor Way, passed away in England on 18 January 2011 at the age of 89 after a short illness. He is survived by his wife Isobel, son, Robert and daughter, Katherine. The world has lost a great man and an IPM champion who has devoted most of his life’s work to develop IPM methods to rationalize and reduce insecticide use, mentoring students, helping and nurturing scientists in the developing countries. He had served in the FAO Panel of Experts on IPC, participated in numerous missions to develop IPM in Asia and Africa.

Professor Way has been a mentor and inspiration to many entomologists throughout the world, especially those involved in IPM. His contributions to ecological based insect management are enormous and far ranging, from aphids, brown planthoppers to coconut and cocoa pests. Noted for his fascination of ants, Professor Way has made numerous scientific contributions highlighting the role of ants in pest suppressions. Indeed his last contribution to science was a paper on ants in rice fields, which I am proud and honored to be the co author (Way and Heong, 2009).

In the 1990s Professor Way, retired, was a visiting scientist at IRRI for 5 years, spending 3 months a year away from the UK winter to wade through hot and muddy rice fields in Victoria, Laguna, Philippines. We were working to understand the role of bunds in the rice ecosystem. During that period he wrote a classic which I am also honored to be associated with (Way and Heong 1994), on the role of biodiversity in rice pest management. Indeed this work and the ideas developed have formed the scientific foundations of the ecological engineering approach that is now promoted. It was clear then and “We conclude(d) that IPM in tropical irrigated rice should be based on the contention that insecticides are not needed rather than that they are, and that ‘pests’ should now be critically re-assessed and proven guilty before insecticide use is contemplated“.

Last photograph I had with Professor Way and his wife, Isobel in their residence, Bowood in South Ascot, UK. April 2008.

I remember fondly the hours of heated discussions in the field, in the labs and in the IRRI guest house we had as we explored the unique ecological properties in rice ecosystems (these have come to be known as “ecosystem services”) and that insecticide sprays will do far more harm in creating secondary pests than any other factor. This conclusion is now more needed than ever as prophylactic (or pre emptive strikes) has now become the norm in many intensive rice areas creating the “pesticide tsunami” and increasing the vulnerability of rice crops to planthopper outbreaks. We also concluded that “.. the insecticide-based approach is not only harmful to natural controls but is costly and mostly demands impracticable decision making by farmers on need-based use”.

Professor Way will be remembered by most as a kind, patient teacher who cared and would spend numerous hours discussing science, ecology and IPM; as a field ecologist who would spend days in the field observing insects to unravel the biological mysteries to us then to improve field management of pests; as an intellectual and author who has made significant contributions to entomological sciences; as a leader who has significantly contributed towards promoting IPM and ecological based pest management approaches; as a visionary who saw great values in understanding and conserving biodiversity in pest management and most of all as a great friend. I lost a mentor and friend whom I have been privileged to meet 34 years ago. The world has lost a biodiversity and IPM champion.

References

Way, M.J. and Heong, K.L. 1994. The role of biodiversity in the dynamics and management of insect pests of tropical irrigated rice – a review. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 84, 567–587.

Way, M.J. and Heong, K.L. 2009. Significance of the tropical fire ant Solenopsis geminata (hymenoptera: formicidae) as part of the natural enemy complex responsible for successful biological control of many tropical irrigated rice pests. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 99, 503–512.

How can the potential of agriculture be unleashed to reduce malnutrition and ill health? This is the question that economists, sociologists, agricultural scientists, policy makers and international development administrators who will gather in New Dehli will explore and develop answers to. People’s nutrition and health are affected by agriculture, as the supplier of food, source of income and the basic engine of growth. Thus agriculture can contribute significantly to improving poor people’s nutrition and health. The Conference “Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Nutrition and Health”, organized by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) begins in New Dehli, India on 10 February 2011 for 3 days will focus on catalyzing action. Details in http://2020conference.ifpri.info/

A special session entitled “Keeping you healthy and your rice bowls full” organized by Dr Lourdes Adriano, Principal Economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and chaired by Dr Robert Zeigler, Director General of IRRI, will be held on 10 February. The session will address preventing pre and post harvest losses and protecting the health of farmers and consumers. Farmers are exposed to health hazards posed by excessive pesticide use which are also affecting ecosystem health and inducing pest outbreaks, like the planthoppers. Poor post harvest practices result in rice highly contaminated by aflatoxins from fungal infections. Aflatoxins are toxic and among the most carcinogenic substances known.

Farms are 10 times more vulnerable to planthopper outbreaks when insecticides are used in the early crop season.

In intensive rice productions systems, much of the biodiversity is reduced and the risks of getting planthopper outbreaks are high. They lack genetic biodiversity when large areas are planted to just a few varieties. Habitat biodiversity is lacking when rice is grown continuously in large areas and biodiversity of predators and parasitoids are lost because of excessive insecticides from prophylactic spraying routines. The ADB-IRRI Rice Planthopper Project aims to reduce vulnerability of rice crops to pre harvest losses by restoring biodiversity and reducing prophylactic insecticide applications using ecological engineering principles.

When rice is poorly stored after harvest, there is high infection by several species of a fungus, Aspergillus, that produces aflatoxins. Consumers, often unaware of such carcinogenic contaminants in the rice they eat, are at risk in the medium and long terms. The ADB-IRRI Post Harvest project is developing improved storage methods as well as improved systems in the rice supply chain to reduce such contaminations.